Hillary's next big move

Thursday

Apr 24, 2008 at 2:00 AM

The text of the Clinton press conference we're waiting for:

HAMILTON KAHNHAMILTON KAHN

The text of the Clinton press conference we're waiting for:

I'd like to thank the ladies and gentlemen of the press for coming out on such short notice. You know, I haven't always liked what you've said about me, but I want you all to know that I revere the essential role you play in keeping the public informed and making possible the free flow of information, to the best of your ability. If at times I may have seemed to deliberately mislead you or tried to avoid answering your questions, I'm sorry. I'll try to do better from now on.

Sometimes the best-laid plans are interrupted by unexpected events — certainly this campaign has shown that time and time again, due to the remarkable ascendancy of Barack Obama, one of the most gifted politicians of this or any time in our nation's history. Yet this challenge has only made me and many of my supporters more determined to press on and try to overcome what appear to be increasing odds against winning the Democratic nomination for president of the United States.

However, this effort has not come without cost, both financial and personal. Not long ago, I had to put $5 million of my own money into the campaign to keep it afloat, and even since then we've been struggling to pay our bills — even our health insurance bills, for goodness' sakes. But I'm proud to say we've tightened our belts, rallied the troops, balanced the books and are on our feet again.

More profound has been the impact of the campaign on my personal life. And so I've called you here today to announce my legal separation from my husband, former President Bill Clinton, and our plans to divorce as soon as possible, probably within the next year.

The strains within our marriage have been evident going all the way to our years in Arkansas, but I was always convinced that staying with him despite his multiple infidelities was the best way to achieve the political and social goals we both believed in. This was affirmed by Bill's election to the presidency in 1992 and by the considerable achievements of his eight years in office, even if progress on many issues was virtually derailed by the Lewinsky scandal and impeachment trial.

Miraculously, he left office in good public standing while I was given credit for enduring the highest-profile embarrassment imaginable. Parlaying that into a New York Senate seat for me wasn't a piece of cake by any means, but we did it — I mean, I did it, with Bill's support, of course, but he was careful not to upstage me while I was building my own political rxE9sumxE9. We were both working toward the same goal — a return to the White House, a restoration of the Clinton name in the pantheon of American history. And, I thought, full compensation, at last, for what I've had to put up with for the past 30 years.

Maybe it's those feelings that have clouded my judgment during this campaign, because while I have seen this as a historic effort to elect this country's first woman president, others — most notably, my husband — have seen this as a third Clinton term, a return to policies of the 1990s and a vindication after all the damage done by Bush and Cheney. And I regret to say that for a time, I, too, bought into this rationale.

You don't have to be a skilled political analyst to see how my husband's self-centered ambition has hurt my campaign. His jabs at my opponent have repeatedly dominated the news, forcing both me and Senator Obama to stop talking about the issues and to criticize each other instead. Even as it has become clear to many in and out of our party that this is helping the Republicans, my husband has cheered on the sniping, telling critics to "chill out." This has created the impression that we — he and I — are determined to win no matter what the cost to the party or our nation.

This does not represent my view. I did not enter into this campaign to be a straw horse for a third Bill Clinton term, and I do not believe that turning back the clock is a viable plan for the future of this country. I have asked Bill to stop actively campaigning for me, and I promise that he will have no role whatsoever in a Hillary Clinton administration, beyond the respect shown any ex-president of the United States.

I understand that it's late in the game to be asking the public to adjust to this big change in my life, but I believe deeply that this will make me a better person and a better president.

Hamilton Kahn is host of ''In The News'' on community radio station WOMR, 92.1 FM in Provincetown. He lives in Wellfleet.

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